System, device and method for providing proximate addresses

ABSTRACT

Systems, devices and methods are provided to display or otherwise provide addresses in proximity to the device, and to periodically update the addresses as the navigational aid device is transported along a road. The device is adapted to be transported on a road. The device includes a processor and a memory adapted to communicate with the processor. The processor and the memory are adapted to cooperate to provide an address that is proximate to the device. Another aspect includes a method. According to one method embodiment, an address proximate to a navigational aid device is estimated and displayed on the navigational aid device. Other aspects are provided herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to navigational devices, and inparticular to navigational devices that provide addresses in proximityto the device as the unit is transported.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Route planning devices are well known in the field of navigationalinstruments. The capabilities of known route planning devices andmethods depend on system resources, such as processor speed and theamount and speed of memory. The processes implemented by a navigationalaid device are a function of overall system cost because an increase insystem capability also increases system cost. The known art includes aspectrum of products in which the degree of accuracy and the amount andquality of information is dictated primarily by the cost of the system.The lower cost systems currently offer a lower degree of accuracy thatoften is inadequate for most users, and offer an amount and quality ofinformation that is less than desired for most users.

Processes inherently affected by the limited system resources includeroute planning, route guidance and other guidance or informationprovided to assist a user of the device. Route planning involvescalculating a route between a starting position and an endingdestination. Route guidance guides a user through the appropriatemaneuvers to navigate through a planned route. The system requirementsfor both route planning and route guidance are considerable as theseprocesses involve algorithms or operating instructions acting on a largeamount of cartographic data. As such, given the limited system resourcesand the requirements of route planning and route guidance, otherguidance or assistance for the user of the navigational aid device oftenis not provided with the device.

Route planning and route guidance are useful features in a navigationaldevice. However, other guidance or information is often desirable for anumber of reasons. For example, a user may be a local person who knowshow to travel to the general location of the ending destination. Assuch, the user neither needs nor desires to plan a route to the generallocation of the ending destination. Another example involves a user whohas been guided along a planned route, and now is located in the generaldestination.

Often, these users are traveling to a particular business or residentialaddress for the purpose of an appointment, a delivery, or a socialevent, for example. The users are somewhat familiar with the area, butare unsure of the location of the building for the desired building orresidential address.

These addresses are not easily identified from the road for a number ofreasons. For example, the address signs may be inconsistently placed onbuildings. Additionally, address signs often are inconsistent in size,and contain inconsistent lettering size and type. Furthermore, theaddress signs may not be illuminated in the dark. Other reasons involvethe distance from the road to the address signs, and the traffic flowspeed such that sufficient time for finding address signs is notavailable. As there may be other reasons why addresses are not easilyidentified from the road, these examples are not intended as anexhaustive list.

Therefore, there exists a need for a navigational aid device thatprovides an address that is proximate to the device, and that updatesthe address as the navigational aid device is transported.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above mentioned problems of navigational devices are addressed bythe present invention and will be understood by reading and studying thefollowing specification. Systems, devices and methods are provided todisplay or otherwise provide addresses in proximity to the device, andto periodically update the addresses as the navigational aid device istransported along a road. Thus, the navigational aid device is adaptedto indicate addresses passed by a user while driving along a road.

One aspect of the present invention provides an electronic navigationaldevice. The device is adapted to be transported on a road. For example,a user may travel with the device along the road in an automobile. Thedevice includes a processor and a memory adapted to communicate with theprocessor. The processor and the memory are adapted to cooperate toprovide an address that is proximate to the device.

One aspect of the present invention provides a method. According to onemethod embodiment, an address proximate to a navigational aid device isestimated or otherwise determined, and displayed on the navigational aiddevice.

Other aspects are provided herein. These, as well as other novelaspects, embodiments, advantages, details, and features of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description of the invention, the attached claims andaccompanying drawings, listed herein below, which are useful inexplaining the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is representative of a GPS system;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate views for one embodiment of an electronicnavigational device;

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate views for another embodiment of an electronicnavigational device;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of one embodiment for the electroniccomponents within the hardware of FIGS. 2A-2B;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of one embodiment for the electroniccomponents within the hardware of FIGS. 3A-3C;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a navigation system;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the components of the electronicnavigational aid device in communication with at least one database thatcontains road data and address number ranges;

FIG. 7 is a map illustration of city blocks;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment for estimating an address within anaddress range;

FIG. 9 is one display embodiment for providing an address that isproximate to a navigational aid device;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of one method embodiment according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for estimating the proximateaddress as shown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A better understanding of the present invention reference may be had tothe following detailed description taken in conjunction with dependantclaims and accompanied drawings. In essence, the present inventionallows an electronic navigational aid device to provide addresses inproximity to the device as the navigational aid device is transported ona road.

FIG. 1 is representative of a global positioning system (GPS). The GPS100 includes a plurality of satellites 120 and a GPS receiver device140. The plurality of satellites 120 are in orbit about the Earth 124.The orbit of each satellite 120 is not necessarily synchronous with theorbits of other satellites 120 and, in fact, is likely asynchronous. TheGPS receiver device 140 of the present invention is shown receivingspread spectrum GPS satellite signals 160 from the various satellites120.

The spread spectrum signals 160 continuously transmitted from eachsatellite 120 utilize a highly accurate frequency standard accomplishedwith an extremely accurate atomic clock. Each satellite 120, as part ofits data signal transmission 160, transmits a data stream indicative ofthat particular satellite 120. It will be appreciated by those skilledin the relevant art that the GPS receiver device 140 must acquire spreadspectrum GPS satellite signals 160 from at least three satellites 120for the GPS receiver device 140 to calculate its two-dimensionalposition by triangulation. Acquisition of an additional signal 160,resulting in signals 160 from a total of four satellites 120, permitsGPS receiver device 140 to calculate its three-dimensional position.

GPS satellites and GPS receiving devices are not required by the tenetsof the present invention. Any receiving device capable of receiving thelocation from at least three transmitting locations is capable ofperforming basic triangulation calculations to determine the relativeposition of the receiving device with respect to the transmittinglocations.

For example, at least three cellular towers can each transmit theirlocation information to a receiving cellular phone, or any otherreceiving device, and if the phones or devices are equipped to performthe triangulation algorithm, then the location of the cellular phone ordevice can be readily resolved. By further way of example, an amusementpark or entertainment facility can deploy three or more transmittingradio frequency devices and provide users with receiving units capableof performing a triangulation algorithm to determine the receiving unitslocation within the amusement park or entertainment facility. In thisway, it is readily apparent that a receiving unit need not beexclusively GPS enabled to benefit from the teachings of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate views for one embodiment of an electronicnavigational device 230 according to the teachings of the presentinvention. As one of ordinary skill in the art will understand uponreading this disclosure, the device can be portable and can be utilizedin any number of implementations such as automobile, personal marinecraft, and avionic navigation. In the embodiment of FIG. 2A a front viewof the navigational device 230 is provided showing the navigationaldevice has a generally rectangular housing 232. The housing 232 isconstructed of resilient material and has been rounded for aesthetic andergonomic purposes. As shown in FIG. 2A, the control face 234 has accessslots for an input key pad 238, other individual keys 239, and a displayscreen 236. In one embodiment, the display screen 236 is a LCD displaywhich is capable of displaying both text and graphical information. Theinvention, however, is not so limited.

In FIG. 2B, a side view of the navigational device 230 is provided. FIG.2B illustrates that the device's housing 232 is defined by an outerfront case 240 and a rear case 242. As shown in FIG. 2B, the outer frontcase 240 is defined by the control face 234. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2B, the outer front case 240 and the rear case 242 are made ofseparate molded pieces to form the device housing 232 and support inputkey pad 238, other individual keys 239, and display screen 236 inrespective access slots shown in the control face 234 of FIG. 2A.

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate views for another embodiment of an electronicnavigational device 310 according to the teachings of the presentinvention. The navigational device 310 shown in FIGS. 3A-3C includes apersonal digital assistant (PDA) with integrated GPS receiver andcellular transceiver according to the teachings of the presentinvention. The GPS integrated PDA operates with an operating system (OS)such as, for example, the well-known Palm or Pocket PC operatingsystems, or the lesser-used Linux OS. As shown in the top view of FIG.3A, the GPS integrated PDA 310 includes an internal integrated GPS patchantenna 314 and a cellular transceiver 316 contained in a housing 318.The housing 318 is generally rectangular with a low profile and has afront face 320 extending from a top end 322 to a bottom end 324. Mountedon front face 320 is a display screen 326, which is touch sensitive andresponsive to a stylus 330 (shown stored in the side view of FIG. 3B) ora finger touch. FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate the stylus 330 nested withinhousing 318 for storage and convenient access in a conventional manner.The embodiment shown in FIG. 3A illustrates a number of control buttons,or input keys 328 positioned toward the bottom end 324. The invention,however, is not so limited and one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the input keys 328 can be positioned toward the top end322 or at any other suitable location. The end view of FIG. 3Cillustrates a map data cartridge bay slot 332 and headphone jack 334provided at the top end 322 of the housing 318. Again, the invention isnot so limited and one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thata map data cartridge bay slot 332 and headphone jack 334 can be providedat the bottom end 324, separately at opposite ends, or at any othersuitable location.

It should be understood that the structure of GPS integrated PDA 310 isshown as illustrative of one type of integrated PDA navigation device.Other physical structures, such as a cellular telephone and avehicle-mounted unit are contemplated within the scope of thisinvention.

FIGS. 2A-2B and 3A-3C are provided as illustrative examples of hardwarecomponents for a navigational device according to the teachings of thepresent invention. However, the invention is not limited to theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 2A-2B and 3A-3C. One of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate other suitable designs for a hardware devicewhich can accommodate the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of one embodiment for the electroniccomponents within the hardware of FIGS. 2A-2B, such as within housing332 and utilized by the electronic navigational device. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the electronic components include aprocessor 410 which is connected to an input 420, such as keypad vialine 425. It will be understood that input 420 may alternatively be amicrophone for receiving voice commands. Processor 410 communicates withmemory 430 via line 435. Processor 410 also communicates with displayscreen 440 via line 445. An antenna/receiver 450, such as a GPSantenna/receiver is connected to processor 410 via line 455. It will beunderstood that the antenna and receiver, designated by referencenumeral 450, are combined schematically for illustration, but that theantenna and receiver may be separately located components, and that theantenna may be a GPS patch antenna or a helical antenna. The electroniccomponents further include I/O ports 470 connected to processor 410 vialine 475. According to one embodiment, a speaker 480 is connected to theprocessor 410 via line 485, and the device is adapted to provide thevoice guidance through the speaker 480. According to one embodiment, thedevice is adapted to be connected to an auxiliary speaker, such as aspeaker from a car stereo, earphones or an earpiece, and is adapted toprovide the voice guidance through the auxiliary speaker.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of one embodiment for the electroniccomponents within the hardware of FIGS. 3A-3C and utilized by the GPSintegrated PDA 310 according to the teachings of the present invention.The electronic components shown in FIG. 4B include a processor 436 whichis connected to the GPS antenna 414 through GPS receiver 438 via line441. The processor 436 interacts with an operating system (such asPalmOS; Pocket PC) that runs selected software depending on the intendeduse of the PDA 310. Processor 436 is coupled with memory 442 such as RAMvia line 444, and power source 446 for powering the electroniccomponents of PDA 310. The processor 436 communicates with touchsensitive display screen 426 via data line 448.

The electronic components further include two other input sources thatare connected to the processor 436. Control buttons 428 are connected toprocessor 436 via line 451 and a map data cartridge 433 inserted intocartridge bay 432 is connected via line 452. A conventional serial I/Oport 454 is connected to the processor 436 via line 456. Cellularantenna 416 is connected to cellular transceiver 458, which is connectedto the processor 436 via line 466. Processor 436 is connected to thespeaker/headphone jack 434 via line 462. The PDA 310 may also include aninfrared port (not shown) coupled to the processor 436 that may be usedto beam information from one PDA to another.

As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, theelectronic components shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are powered by a powersource in a conventional manner. As will be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art, different configurations of the componentsshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are considered within the scope of the presentinvention. For example, in one embodiment, the components shown in FIGS.4A and 4B are in communication with one another via wireless connectionsand the like. Thus, the scope of the navigation device of the presentinvention includes a portable electronic navigational aid device.

According to the teachings of the present invention, the electroniccomponents embodied in FIGS. 4A and 4B are adapted to provide an addressthat is proximate to the device. That is, according to the teachings ofthe present invention, a processor 410 is provided with the electronicnavigational aid device, and a memory 430 is connected to the processor410. As will be discussed in more detail immediately below and withrespect to FIGS. 6-11, the processor 410 and memory 430 cooperate toperform various processes according to the teachings of the presentinvention.

According to one embodiment, the processor 410 and memory 430 cooperateto estimate an address proximate to the navigational device, and displaythe address on the navigational device. The memory 430 includescartographic data, and algorithms for estimating and displaying theaddress.

According to one embodiment, the algorithms are used to access orextract road data. A road data storage element is selected from the roaddata based on a position of the navigational aid device. Address numberranges associated with the road data storage element are accessed orextracted. An address number range is selected from the extractedaddress number ranges. An address number is estimated from the addressnumber range, and displayed on the display screen 440 of thenavigational aid device.

According to other embodiments, the algorithms determine a direction oftravel for the navigational aid device, and estimates a proximateaddress along a driving side of the road according to local rules. Forexample, traffic drives on the right side of the road in the UnitedStates and on the left side of the road in the United Kingdom. As such,the navigational aid device displays addresses on the right side of theroad in the United States and on the left side of the road in the UnitedKingdom. According to other embodiments, the algorithms display only theodd addresses, only the even addresses, or both the odd and evenaddresses. These embodiments allow a user to look for addresses oneither side of the road, or more generally in other address ranges.

The navigational device includes a display 440 that is adapted tocommunicate with the processor 410 and is capable of showing addressesthat are proximate to the navigational device. According to oneembodiment, the display 440 shows both the address number and the roadname. According to various embodiments, the display 440 shows theaddress according to local address formats.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a navigation system. Thenavigation system 500 includes a server 502. According to oneembodiment, the server 502 includes a processor 504 operably coupled tomemory 506, and further includes a transmitter 508 and a receiver 510 tosend and receive communication signals. The transmitter 508 and receiver510 are selected or designed according to the communication requirementsand the communication technology used in the communication design forthe navigation system. The functions of the transmitter 508 and thereceiver 510 may be combined into a single transceiver.

The navigation system further includes a mass data storage 512 coupledto the server 502 via communication link 514. The mass data storage 512contains a store of navigation data. One of ordinary skill in the artwill understand, upon reading and comprehending this disclosure, thatthe mass data storage 512 can be a separate device from the server 502or can be incorporated into the server 502.

The navigation system further includes a navigational aid device 516adapted to communicate with the server 502 through the communicationchannel 518. According to one embodiment, the navigational aid device516 includes a processor and memory, as previously shown and describedwith respect to the block diagram of FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. Furthermore,the navigational aid device 516 includes a transmitter 520 and receiver522 to send and receive communication signals through the communicationchannel 518. The transmitter 520 and receiver 522 are selected ordesigned according to the communication requirements and thecommunication technology used in the communication design for thenavigation system. The functions of the transmitter 520 and receiver 522may be combined into a single transceiver.

Software stored in the server memory 506 provides instructions for theprocessor 504 and allows the server 502 to provide services to thenavigational aid device 516. One service provided by the server 502involves processing requests from the navigational aid device 516 andtransmitting navigation data from the mass data storage 512 to thenavigational aid device 516. According to one embodiment, anotherservice provided by the server 502 includes processing the navigationdata using various algorithms for a desired application, and sending theresults of these calculations to the navigational aid device 516.

The communication channel 518 is the propagating medium or path thatconnects the navigational aid device 516 and the server 502. Accordingto one embodiment, both the server 502 and the navigational aid device516 include a transmitter for transmitting data through thecommunication channel and a receiver for receiving data that has beentransmitted through the communication channel.

The communication channel 518 is not limited to a particularcommunication technology. Additionally, the communication channel 518 isnot limited to a single communication technology; that is, the channel518 may include several communication links that use a variety oftechnology. For example, according to various embodiments, thecommunication channel is adapted to provide a path for electrical,optical, and/or electromagnetic communications. As such, thecommunication channel includes, but is not limited to, one or acombination of the following: electrical circuits, electrical conductorssuch as wires and coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, converters,radio-frequency (RF) waveguides, the atmosphere, and empty space.Furthermore, according to various embodiments, the communication channelincludes intermediate devices such as routers, repeaters, buffers,transmitters, and receivers, for example.

In one embodiment, for example, the communication channel 518 includestelephone and computer networks. Furthermore, in various embodiments,the communication channel 516 is capable of accommodating wirelesscommunication such as radio frequency, microwave frequency and infraredcommunication, and the like. Additionally, according to variousembodiments, the communication channel 516 accommodates satellitecommunication.

The communication signals transmitted through the communication channel518 include such signals as may be required or desired for a givencommunication technology. For example, the signals may be adapted to beused in cellular communication technology, such as time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), global system for mobile communications(GSM), and the like. Both digital and analog signals may be transmittedthrough the communication channel 518. According to various embodiments,these signals are modulated, encrypted and/or compressed signals as maybe desirable for the communication technology.

The mass data storage includes sufficient memory for the desirednavigation application. Examples of mass data storage include magneticdata storage media such as hard drives, optical data storage media suchas CD ROMs, charge storing data storage media such as Flash memory, andmolecular memory.

According to one embodiment of the navigation system, the 502 serverincludes a remote server accessed by the navigational aid device 516through a wireless channel. According to other embodiments of thenavigation system, the server 502 includes a network server located on alocal area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), a virtual privatenetwork (VPN) and server farms.

According to another embodiment of the navigation system, the server 502includes a personal computer such as a desktop or laptop computer. Inone embodiment, the communication channel 518 is a cable connectedbetween the personal computer and the navigational aid device. Accordingto one embodiment, the communication channel 518 is a wirelessconnection between the personal computer and the navigational aid device516.

As will be discussed in more detail immediately below and with respectto FIGS. 6-11, the system performs various processes according to theteachings of the present invention. According to one embodiment, themass data storage 512 is adapted to store navigation data. According tovarious embodiments, the navigation data includes text, images and/oraudio. The server 502 communicates with the mass data storage 512, andthus is able to access and/or process the navigation data. Thenavigational aid device 516 communicates with and retrieves navigationdata from the server 502 via a communication channel 518.

The navigational aid device 516 includes a processor and a memoryconnected to the processor. According to one embodiment, the processorand memory of the navigational aid device 516 are adapted to provide andperform algorithms or instructions to provide an address that isproximate to the device.

According to another embodiment, the processor 504 and memory 506 of theserver 502 are adapted to provide and perform the algorithms orinstructions to provide or estimate an address that is proximate to thedevice. The navigational aid device 516 receives this estimated addressfrom the server 502 through the communication channel 518. These, andother embodiments, are discussed in more detail below.

According to one embodiment, the algorithms are used to access orextract road data. A road data storage element is selected from the roaddata based on a position of the navigational aid device 516. Addressnumber ranges associated with the road data storage element are accessedor extracted. An address number range is selected from the extractedaddress number ranges. An address number is estimated from the addressnumber range, and displayed on the display screen of the navigationalaid device 516. According to other embodiments, the algorithms determinea direction of travel for the navigational aid device, and estimates aproximate address along a driving side of the road according to localrules. According to one embodiment, the display screen shows both theaddress number and the road name. According to various embodiments, thedisplay screen shows the address according to local address formats.

FIG. 6-11, as described below, provide additional aspect of theinvention. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, uponreading and comprehending this disclosure, how to incorporate theseaspects into the device and system described above.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the components of the electronicnavigational aid device in communication with at least one database thatcontains road data and address number ranges. According to oneembodiment, the navigational aid device shown in FIG. 6 is similar tothe navigational aid device shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, and includesthe electronic components shown therein. As shown in FIG. 6, thenavigational aid device 616 includes, but is not limited to, a processor610, a memory 630, and a display 640.

The navigational aid device 616 is in communication with at least onedatabase 630. According to various embodiments, the database 650, orportions thereof, is contained in memory 630 of the navigational aiddevice 616, in memory 506 of the system 500 as shown in FIG. 5, and/orin a mass data storage 512 as shown in FIG. 5.

The database 650 contains road data. The road data includes individualroad elements which represent roads. The database 650 also containsaddress number ranges associated with the individual road elements.

A number of methods may be used to store and retrieve cartographic datafrom the database 650. These methods include, for example, U.S. Pat. No.5,995,970 ('970) entitled Method and Apparatus for Geographic CoordinateData Storage, U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,955 ('955) entitled Method andApparatus for Storing Cartographic Route Data, and U.S. Pat. No.6,252,605 ('605) entitled System and Method for Packing Spatial Data inan R-Tree. Patents '970, '955 and '605 are all assigned to applicant'sassignee, Garmin Corporation. Patents '970, '955 and '605 areincorporated by reference herein.

FIG. 7 is a map illustration of city blocks. This simple illustrationincludes 50th Street, 51st Street, and 52nd Street intersected by 5thAvenue, 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue. The navigational aid device isrepresented by the arrow head 738, and is traveling along the 500 blockof 51st Street in the direction of arrow 740. As such, as will bedescribed in more detail with respect to the method shown in FIGS. 10and 11 below, 51st Street is designated as a best road data element 742.

The navigational aid device 738 is being transported along 51st Street.That is, for example, a vehicle that contains the navigational aiddevice is traveling along 51st Street. Roads often have odd addresses onone side and even address on the other side. From an orientation in thedirection of the arrow in the illustration of FIG. 7, odd addresses arefound on the left side of the street and even addresses are found on theright side of the street, for example. These odd and even addresses formaddress ranges that are associated with the best road data element.These odd and even addresses may be further divided into additionaladdress ranges as appropriate for the road data.

The navigational aid device 738 is adapted to provide an addressproximate to the navigational aid device 738. A displayed proximateaddress in this illustration is 556 51st Street. According to oneembodiment, the navigational device determines a direction of travel onthe road and estimates an address along a driving side of the roadaccording to local driving rules. For example, the driving side of theroad in the United States is the right side of the road, and the drivingside of the mad in the United Kingdom is the left side of the road.

According to other embodiments, the navigational aid device 738 iscapable of displaying at a user's discretion odd addresses, evenaddresses, or both odd and even addresses. As such, regardless of thedirection of travel on the road, a user is able to select the desiredaddress range displayed on the navigational aid device 738. For example,a user is able to selectively display the odd, the even or both the oddand the even address ranges on the navigational aid device 738.

According to another embodiment, the navigational device displays boththe address number and the road name associated with the address that isproximate to the navigational aid device. According to variousembodiments, the address number and road name are displayed according tolocal address formatting rules or conventions.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment for estimating an address within anaddress range. According to this embodiment, the position 846 of thenavigational aid device 838 is determined. In FIG. 8, for example, it isdetermined that the navigational aid device 838 is traveling on 51stStreet. An address range 848 is associated with the position of thenavigational aid device 838. In the illustrated example, it isdetermined that the address number range 848 is from “502” at 850 to“598” at 852. The distance traveled from the beginning of the addressnumber range (502 51st Street) at 850 to the position 846 of thenavigational aid device 838 is determined. An address is estimated basedon the address number range 848, the length 859 of the road associatedwith the address range 848, and the distance 856 traveled from thebeginning of the address number range 848 at 850 to the position 846 ofthe navigational aid device 838. An estimated address number 858 isderived based on this information. In the illustrated example, theestimate proximate address 858 along the driving side of the road isestimated to be “556”.

FIG. 9 is one display embodiment for providing an address that isproximate to a navigational aid device. According to one embodiment, theillustrated display 940 is the display screen 236 of FIG. 2, or thedisplay 440 for the navigational aid device of FIG. 4A, or the display426 for the navigational aid device of FIG. 4B. According to theillustrated embodiment, the display 940 includes a map window 960 forindicating a position of the navigational aid device as the device istransported along the road. As shown, the map is rotated so that thedirection of travel is up; that is, one embodiment of the display 940 isa heads-up display. As one of ordinary skill in the art will understandupon reading and comprehending this disclosure, other displays areavailable for this window. Additionally, the display 940 includes aproximate address display window 962 for displaying addresses that areproximate to the navigational aid device as the navigational aid deviceis transported along the road. For example, as the device is transportedalong 51st Street, the proximate address display window is periodicallyupdated to continue to indicate a proximate address as the navigationalaid device is moved.

According to one embodiment, the proximate address display window 962,as well as the position of the navigational device in the map window960, is periodically updated at approximately one second intervals.According to one embodiment, the periodic update is based on an updateevent. The position, speed, and direction of the navigational aid deviceis determined at each update event. Based on this information, aproximate address is displayed in the proximate address display window962.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of one method embodiment according to thepresent invention. According to this embodiment, it is determined at1070 if an update event has occurred. According to one embodiment, theupdate event is a periodic event for calculating or otherwisedetermining navigational aid device information. According to oneembodiment, the update event occurs approximately at one secondintervals.

If an update event has not occurred, the process returns to 1070 untilsuch time that an update event does occur. Upon determining that anupdate event has occurred, the process proceeds to 1072 to estimate anaddress that is proximate to the navigational aid device. The processcontinues to 1074 to display, or otherwise provide, the estimatedaddress. According to one embodiment, the estimated address is displayedon the navigational device. At 1076, it is determined whether theprocess is to continue or repeat. Upon determining that the process isto repeat, the process returns to 1070. Upon determining that theprocess is not to repeat, the process terminates.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for estimating the proximateaddress as shown in FIG. 10. As such, the process performed by FIG. 11is generally designated by the reference 1172 to correspond to 1072 inFIG. 10.

According to one embodiment, at 1178, information is obtained at theupdate event. This information includes a position and travel directionof a navigational aid device. This information also includes accuracyinformation regarding the accuracy or resolution of the cartographicdata and the determined position and direction. This information may becharacterized as functional data that is processed by various algorithmsto provide a proximate road address.

At 1180, road data is extracted from a database. According to oneembodiment, the appropriate road data is extracted based on position andaccuracy previously determined at 1178. The road data includes a numberof road data storage elements, and address ranges associated with theroad data storage elements. A comparison is made at 1182 between theroad data and the previously determined direction and position of thenavigational aid device such that, at 1184, a best road data storageelement is able to be selected.

At 1186, address number ranges associated with the best road datastorage element are extracted from the database. An address number rangeis selected at 1188 based on the previously determined travel direction.At 1190, an address number is estimated based on the previouslydetermined position of the navigational aid device, a road length forthe selected address range, and a distance from one end of the best roaddata storage element to the position of the navigational aid device.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, upon reading andcomprehending this disclosure, that other methods may be implemented toprovide an address that is proximate to a navigational aid device. Assuch, the methods and functional data should be interpreted as anonexclusive embodiment. The elements of the process, for example, donot necessarily have to occur in the order as shown.

In some embodiments, the methods illustrated in FIGS. 10-11 and theassociated functional data are implemented as a computer data signalembodied in a carrier wave, that represents a sequence of instructionswhich, when executed by a processor, such as processor 410 in FIG. 4Aand processor 436 in FIG. 4B, cause the processor to perform therespective method. In other embodiments, these methods and functionaldata are implemented as a computer-accessible medium, such as memory 430in FIG. 4A and memory 442 in FIG. 4B, having executable instructionscapable of directing a processor, such as processor 410 in FIG. 4A andprocessor 436 in FIG. 4B, to perform the respective method. In varyingembodiments, the medium is a magnetic medium, an electronic medium, oran optical medium.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will understand upon reading thisdisclosure, the electronic components of device shown in FIGS. 4A and 4Band components of the system 500 shown in FIG. 5 can be embodied ascomputer hardware circuitry or as a computer-readable program, or acombination of both. In another embodiment, system 500 is implemented inan application service provider (ASP) system.

The system of the present invention includes software operative on aprocessor to perform methods according to the teachings of the presentinvention. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, uponreading and comprehending this disclosure, the manner in which asoftware program can be launched from a computer readable medium in acomputer based system to execute the functions defined in the softwareprogram. One of ordinary skill in the art will further understand thevarious programming languages which may be employed to create a softwareprogram designed to implement and perform the methods of the presentinvention. The programs can be structured in an object-orientation usingan object, oriented language such as Java, Smalltalk or C++, and theprograms can be structured in a procedural-orientation using aprocedural language such as COBOL or C. The software componentscommunicate in any of a number of means that are well-known to thoseskilled in the art, such as application program interfaces (A.P.I.) orinterprocess communication techniques such as remote procedure call(R.P.C.), common object request broker architecture (CORBA), ComponentObject Model (COM), Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM),Distributed System Object Model (DSOM) and Remote Method Invocation(RMI). However, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart upon reading this disclosure, the teachings of the present inventionare not limited to a particular programming language or environment.

CONCLUSION

The above systems, devices and methods have been described, by way ofexample and not by way of limitation, with respect to providingaddresses in proximity to a navigational aid device. Proximate addresseswith respect to the navigational aid device are displayed on thenavigational aid device. The displayed addresses are updated as thenavigational aid device is transported. Features associated with thedevice allow a user to select whether to display odd or even addresses.A user is able to quickly and conveniently identify addresses, orestimated addresses, from the road.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose maybe substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the presentinvention. It is to be understood that the above description is intendedto be illustrative, and not restrictive. Combinations of the aboveembodiments, and other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill inthe art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the inventionincludes any other applications in which the above systems, devices andmethods are used. The scope of the invention should be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

1. An electronic navigational aid device, comprising: a processor, and amemory adapted to communicate with the processor, wherein the device isadapted to be transported on a road, and wherein the processor and thememory are adapted to cooperate to provide an address that is proximateto and representative of a current position of the device and update theaddress based on the current position of the device as the device istransported on the road such that the address continues to be proximateto and representative of the current position of the device.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the processor and the memory are adapted tocooperate to estimate the address that is proximate to the navigationaldevice.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the processor and the memoryare adapted to cooperate to determine a direction of travel and toestimate the address that is proximate to the navigational device alonga driving side of the road according to local driving rules.
 4. Thedevice of claim 2, wherein the processor and the memory are adapted tocooperate to estimate addresses proximate to the navigational device bybeing adapted to cooperate to: estimate the current position of thenavigational device, estimate a road segment length proximate to anaddress range associated with the current position of the navigationaldevice, and estimate a distance along the road segment length to thecurrent position of the navigational device.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the processor and the memory are adapted to extract road datafrom a database.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor and thememory are adapted to extract address number ranges from a database. 7.The device of claim 1, further comprising a display upon which theaddress is displayed.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the displayedaddress on the display includes an address number and a road name. 9.The device of claim 1, wherein the electronic navigational aid devicecomprises a portable electronic navigational aid device.
 10. The deviceof claim 9, wherein the portable electronic navigational aid deviceincludes a personal digital assistant (PDA).
 11. The device of claim 9,wherein the portable electronic navigational aid device includes awireless communication device.
 12. A navigation system, comprising: amass data storage adapted to store navigation data; a server adapted tocommunicate with the mass data storage; and a navigational aid deviceadapted to communicate with and retrieve navigation data from the servervia a communication channel, wherein the device is adapted to betransported on a road, wherein the system is adapted to display on thedevice an address that is proximate to and representative of a currentposition of the device, and update the address as the device istransported on the road such that the address continues to be proximateto and representative of the current position of the device.
 13. Thenavigation system of claim 12, wherein the communication channelincludes a wireless channel.
 14. The navigation system of claim 12,wherein the server includes a remote server.
 15. The navigation systemof claim 12, wherein the server includes a processor adapted to respondto a request from the navigational aid device by performing calculationson the navigation data and transmitting the results to the navigationalaid device.
 16. The navigation system of claim 12, wherein thenavigational aid device is adapted to communicate with and retrievenavigation data from the server using streaming data.
 17. The navigationsystem of claim 12, wherein the navigational aid device is adapted tocommunicate with and retrieve navigation data from the server usingcellular communication technology.
 18. The navigation system of claim12, wherein: the navigational aid device includes a processor incommunication with a memory, and the processor and the memory of thenavigational aid device are adapted to cooperate to display the addresson the device.
 19. The navigation system of claim 12, wherein the systemis adapted to cooperate to determine a direction of travel and toestimate the address proximate to the navigational device along adriving side of the road according to local driving rules.
 20. Thenavigation system of claim 12, wherein the processor and the memory areadapted to cooperate to estimate addresses proximate to the navigationaldevice by being adapted to cooperate to: estimate the current positionof the navigational device, estimate a road segment length proximate toan address range associated with the current position of thenavigational device, and estimate a distance along the road segmentlength to the current position of the navigational device.
 21. Thenavigation system of claim 12, further comprising a database, whereinthe system is adapted to extract road data and address number rangesfrom the database.
 22. The navigation system of claim 12, wherein thenavigational aid device further includes a display upon which theaddress is displayed.
 23. A method, comprising: estimating an addressproximate to and representative of a current position of a navigationalaid device and updating the address as the device is transported on theroad such that the address continues to be proximate to andrepresentative of the current position of the device; and displaying theaddress on the navigational aid device.
 24. The method of claim 23,wherein estimating an address proximate to a navigational deviceincludes identifying a road upon which the navigational aid device isbeing transported.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein identifying aroad upon which the navigational aid device is being transportedincludes: extracting road data based on a position and an accuracy ofthe navigational aid device; and selecting a best road data elementbased on a comparison between both the road data and the traveldirection and the position.
 26. The method of claim 24, whereinestimating an address proximate to and representative of a currentposition of a navigational aid device further includes determining arange of addresses along the road proximate to the navigational aiddevice.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein estimating an addressproximate to and representative of a current position of a navigationalaid device further includes: estimating an address number based on thecurrent position of the navigational aid device, estimating a roadlength associated with the range of addresses, and estimating a distancefrom one end of the road length to the position of the navigational aiddevice.
 28. The method of claim 23, wherein estimating an addressproximate to and representative of a current position of a navigationaldevice includes obtaining information regarding a position and a traveldirection for the navigational device.
 29. The method of claim 28,wherein estimating an address proximate to and representative of acurrent position of a navigational device further includes obtaininginformation regarding accuracy of the navigational device and road data.30. The method of claim 23, wherein estimating an address proximate toand representative of a current position of a navigational device anddisplaying the address on the navigational device are triggered byperiodic update events.
 31. A method, comprising: accessing road datathat is associated with a road upon which a navigational aid device isbeing transported; selecting a road data storage element from the roaddata based on a current position of the navigational aid device;extracting address number ranges associated with the road data storageelement; selecting an address number range from the extracted addressnumber ranges; estimating an address number from the address numberrange that is proximate to and representative of the current position ofthe navigational aid device; and displaying the estimated addressnumber.
 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising periodicallydisplaying an updated estimated address number.
 33. The method of claim31, wherein accessing road data includes extracting road data from adatabase based on a position and an accuracy of the navigational aiddevice.
 34. The method of claim 31, wherein selecting a road datastorage element from the road data includes comparing the road data to atravel direction and a position of the navigational aid device to find aroad data storage element having a best match.
 35. The method of claim31, wherein selecting an address number range from the extracted addressnumber ranges is based on a travel direction of the navigational device.36. The method of claim 31, wherein estimating the address number fromthe address number range is based on a position of the navigational aiddevice, a road length for the address range, and a distance along theroad length to the position of the navigational aid device.
 37. Themethod of claim 31, wherein displaying the estimated address numberincludes displaying a street name associated with the address number.